Fantasy Analysis

Week 9 waiver-wire pickups for IDP leagues

By Ross Miles &bullet;
Oct 31, 2017

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 12: Julius Peppers #90 of the Carolina Panthers prepares to rush against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on October 12, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

This is our weekly look at the waiver wire for fantasy leagues with an IDP format. Each week we’ll offer up a handful of players who might be worth a waiver claim.

I’m unsure if, when Albert Einstein developed his concept on the dilation of time, he was a NFL fan, but these last eight weeks have positively flown by, whereas eight weeks in the offseason feel at least twice that long. Just a thought. Anyway, we have moved firmly into crunch time in all fantasy leagues. What happened in the first few weeks of the season is now ancient history, and any form shown by players from the first few weeks is essentially irrelevant now. Why is this key to note? Well you should use time-based filters when searching for players on your fantasy host sites or subscription services. Personally, I like looking back at performances over last four weeks, and this functionality is something that you can apply across all of PFF’s signature stats, fantasy stats and more. With that in mind, it’s my main route in to finding this week’s recommended IDP waiver wire pickups as we root out players who have gone off the boil.

Defensive linemen

Apparently, Peppers re-signing with Carolina after a seven-season hiatus is more than just a homecoming tour before his retirement. The 37-year-old pro, who was drafted by Carolina back in 2002, has been scoring as a top-end DL2 over the last four weeks, and over that span on a points-per-opportunity basis, Peppers ranks first in balanced scoring systems, second in big-play systems, and eighth in tackle-heavy leagues. His snap count is limited to around the 50 percent mark each game, but he’s keeping fresh on gameday and continues to be a disruptive force in the backfield. Peppers now has 7.5 sacks on the year, and has recorded a sack in 6-of-8 games, offering plenty of consistency which makes him a viable weekly start if you start two or more defensive linemen in your league.